in the debate represent and 18 electoral votes are in play enastateobamawonin '08, by 4.6 points and now leads 2.3 points in the latest real clear politics average of recent polls and republican ron johnson of wisconsin, 10 electoral votes at stake and obama won by almost 14 points, last time, and, is now leading by 2.3. and democrat mark warner of virginia, obama won its 13 electoral votes by 6 points, four years ago and now is tied with romney. and, democrat mark udall of colorado, obama won the 9 electoral votes last time by nine points and the race there is now dead even. senator portman, let's start with the state i guess most people think may decide the race, that is ohio. the obama camp says they have the big edge in early voting in your state and also note that they have 137 campaign offices around the country, and the romney camp has only 39. >> well, chris, first of all, you mentioned the real clear politics average in ohio, 2.3%, in the president's favor and now it is 1.9%, actually because the polls are closing, the latest poll, by the ohio newspapers, showing the race a dead

's conversation going similar to that inbattlegroundstates. >>obamaisreelected at the end of the next four year we'll be so far in debt they'll be taking half of our product to pay the debt. >> reporter: the economy and the way its shaped is quite critical but it does not mean that they don't have an opinion about what is happening overseas. >> you have osama bin laden though, right. >> well, so what. i mean so he got osama bin laden. >> it's not easy, it's not easy you see what's going on in the middle east. that transition is going to take decades. but we've started it. >> reporter: they are seven men from which we polled. how many of you are going to vote for romney? >> reporter: three raised their hands for romney, three for obama and one undecided. >> to me that's what makes this country. >> reporter: a country that allows its people to vote for its leader. a country where every vote counts for every candidate. >> reporter: are you going to give romney the chance? >> i can't give him a chance. >> reporter: whether it's a swing state, a red state or a blue state the obama-romney debat

of a sent and -- cent and if it fails it will trigger billions. >>> presidentbarackobamamakesit to three battleground credibility and character states. he spent the last few days touring areas of new jersey with governor chris christie. he will campaign areas such as ohio for more campaign appearances tomorrow. meanwhile mitt romney has three scheduled appearances and he returned to campaigning yesterday african selling events because of the storm. mitt romney has avoided harsh criticism because of his attacks. >>> because of people already voting they are lined up in maryland. some states are releasing the meat and 41% democrat and 41% republican. >>> there are some new guidelines in place to help immigrants stay in the country even if they commit wanted to stay -- and even if they wanted to be here. >>> he wore a shirt that read, i look illegal and while he didn't talk about it directly he welcomed the illegalness. the maker of the shirt says online orders are flurry willing in. the first two game of the series generated $18 million in tourism. the city is paying for the cleanup trans

: presidentbarackobamahasassuredthestateofthe government's continued support. >> what i can promise is the federal government will be working as closely with the state and officials and we will not quit until this is done. >> reporter: they are fueling the $35 billion boardwalk and the widespread damage is creating a tripling blow to the state. >> everything is gone all the rides are torn down, everything. >> the damage is minor compared to the things that are irreplaceable. >> look to your right and to your left, your son, your wife, your daughter, those are things that can't be replaced. >> the national guard is here and public works officials have come to remove debris. >> reporter: there are areas where people are in radical situations and one of those places is hoboken where thousands remain trended because of the -- stranded because of the water but the mayor said they need more supplies. >>> the district county is changing the way they prosecute some crimes. the new guidelines will allow illegal immigrants to stay in the area. the guidelines would only apply to cases of minor

praised presidentbarackobama's responseto sandy. >>> there are three events in the battlegroundstateofflorida. he turned what happened as a campaign event into a storm relief effort. people were encouraged to bring relief supplies and mitt romney helped to bag them up for shipping. >>> and a jump in gas prices. at 44 temperature 5 we will -- 4:45 we will hear what they have to say now. >>> they approve a development plan that will force 150 people to look for new homes. it is home to people living on their boats or on rvs. tenants knew the property was for sale and there are other housing options for sale. >> there are 22 areas that have vacancy. >> they plan to develop 444 units on the site. residents will have to move by the end of the year but no timetable has been set. >>> they are working to move california kids. they are using operation boo to keep registered sex offenders away from trick or treaters. they will have to abide and will not be able to give out candy. trans yet sex offenders will need to report to curfew centers. emergency workers will be handing out knee on brac

. bothpresidentobamaandmitt romney are packing in appearances inswingstateswithjust four days left before election day. president obama has three campaign events in ohio today. the president has now received the endorsement of new york city mayor michael bloomberg an independent. he is endorsing president obama because the president's leadership on climate change. meanwhile mitt romney begins today with a campaign event in wisconsin before he too moves on to ohio. tonight romney will appear with paul ryan at a rally in west chester, ohio. they will be joined by many of romney sportiers including speaker of the house john boehner. >>> there is heartbreak for a n family torn apart by sandy. the bodies of two young boys were found in the marsh. coming up the mother says no one answered about her calls for help. >>> well, today is the day many apple fans have been waiting for. delivery of the knew ipad mini. u.s. apple stores will deliver them to people who placed early orders. many placed last week. it's a little more expensive than many expected with a starting price of $329. >>

sewage. >> it smells terrible down there. >> reporter:presidentobamavisitedthe shore area today, and pledged support to help people recovering from the storm. >> my commitment to people in on this block, the people in this community, and the people in this state is that that same spirit will continue over all the way until our work is done. >> reporter: president obama says they will likely he's c- 17s, some navy assets, helicopters to move in water filtration systems. that's going to be key as they need clean water, they're under a boil water advisory here. the first thing they have to do is get the power back on. in new jersey alone, there's some 2 million people without power. ktvu, channel 2 news. >>> flights to the new york area are slowly resuming after nearly 20,000 cancelations over the past few days. the situation will get even better tomorrow in laguardia reopens with limited service. it's been closed because the runways were flooded. both jfk and newark international in new jersey resumed some flights today. here in the bay area, sfo reported 39 flights to and from t

of natural causes. he was 47 years old. >>>presidentobamaisconevening a meeting to helpthosestatesbatteredby super storm sandy. the president traveled to hard hit areas on wednesday and today's meeting at the white house includes top aides, the head of fema and by the telephone, the governors of new york, new jersey and connecticut. and in this morning's weekly addressed. the president pledged to help storm victims to rebuild no matter how long it takes. >> as president, i promise them this, your country be there for you for as long as it takes to recover and rebuild. >> following this morning's meeting, they will fan out to tour damaged areas to make sure that necessary resources shall being provided. that includes gasoline because there's a shortage. and the long lines for gas still visible in some states. new jersey is actually rationing gas. >>> some people in new york cheered this morning when the lights came back on. the number of people without power drops from 2.6 million from a high of 8 million. the storm has left 175 people dead, including 106 in the united states. >>>

obamahasdeclaredastateofemergency in west virginia. >>> 8:40. most tv shows filmed in new york they are on hold because of the -- because of the big storm. there are a few exceptions. they are gonna tape tonight show with no audience just like he did last night. >>> we're don'ting -- we're continuing to track the conditions on the east coast. we'll have conditions -- next. >>> and one school in alameda is showing their spirit for the giants d that's skyler... and his mom, nancy. they're just a few of the californians who took it on themselves to send you a message about what they need to restore years of cuts to their schools. prop thirty-eight. thirty-eight raises billions in new revenue - bypasses sacramento and sends every k through 12 dollar straight to our local schools... every school. for them. for all of us. vote yes on thirty-eight. >>> coming up at 8:44. this morning we're tracking the aftermath of a super storm that's covering a third of the country. it knocked out power to millions and caused at least 21 deaths, including ten in new york city. >> reporter: we're on

, elderly people,presidentobamaheadingforthegardenstatetoget a first- hand view of the devastation. he and governor chris christie will tour parts of the jersey shore hit hardest by sandy. there are small signs of progress, the new york stock exchange, the longest it's been closed since 1888. even pope benedict xvi. >> the hurricane has affected the east coast of the united states of america, i offer my prayers for the victims. >> reporter: back here live you can see the front loaders down there at the end of this very muddy debris-strewn street. you can see the power lines leaning down that work to -- that work of repair is likely to take longer. it's estimated that given the damage up and down the east coast. this could end being one of the costliest storms in history. >>> 8:44. let's bring you up to date on some of the top stories. this is a live picture, mitt romney is right now in tampa, florida. holding his first campaign event since sandy hit. in the meantime, president obama stopped off at the fema headquarters in washington, d.c. a little while ago. he will see firsthand

. >>> presidentbarackobamagetsback on the campaign trail today as allison burns reports, he is making up for lot of time and going to critical swing states with just five days until election day. >> reporter: the president is expected to come out swinging today, wisconsin and nevada, as president barack obama dealt with the federal hurricane response, mitt romney softened his speech avoided direct attempts but they are targeting ohio for criticizing president barack obama for the auto bailout. >> reporter: the head of chrysler issued a statement saying it's not shifting jobs to china and the president's team has been out in force refuting the ad. >> in the last few hours with this campaign they have become truly desperate. >>> he is standing by the ad in virginia. reporting live, allison burns ktvu channel 2 morning news. >>> well several people have already voted and you are looking at video for early voters in maryland. some of the states are already releasing those who are voting and 2. 7 million people have already voted 2. 73 for the democrat and 41% for republicans. >>> they are ta

years old, in tears. >> i'm tired ofbarackobamaandmitt romney. >> we spoke to abigail's mom, liz. they told us they don't even have a television. she's upset about the radio. >> she's a swing state. >> the election will be over soon, okay? >> okay. >>> taking a leap of faith. ♪ >> tacos, delicious food. >> thumbs up for me. >> canons can be fun in the right setting. why not combine the two? >> taco cannon? >> this is in austin, texas, and if you look right over here, there's a guy with a taco cannon shooting tacos into this crowd of people. they scramble for a taco that are, of course, wrapped up. what better way to have fun? >> better be really good taco. >> i don't care if it's a mediocre ta mediocre taco. >> baseball games, they shoot the hotdogs. they do this for fun. get free tacos shot at your face. >> that's literally getting your product out there. >> i'm surprised no injuries. >> funny if they shot the tacos, then the hot sauce. next time you're in austin, check it out. get a taco from a cannon. >>> this girl is alaire, she's autistic. one of the things she's found cal

to help the storm victims but he quickly turned his sites on the election, mockingpresidentobamaforsuggesting a cabinet level department of business. romney said that would not add jobs on main street. >>> many of you are doing last minute reading up on candidates in the many state and local propositions. ktvu.com can help you with that. go to the news, drop down at the top of the front page and click on politics to read or print the ballot for your county. >>> hundreds of people showed up at the san jose convention center today to take advantage of free help with their mortgage. janine de la vega explains what was being offered. >> reporter: he is a single day in danger of losing his home. he came here hoping to hang on to his. >> i just been through a divorce right now and this is to change to lower my interest rate and mortgage. >> this free event is put on by the neighborhood assistance corporation of america. it helps homeowners with unaffordable mortgages restructure their loans. >> we have contracts with all the major lenders and investors to motive the mortgages, that i

in nevada last week and one-fourth ofthestatesvotershave cast their ballots. >>> mitt romney campaigned today in iowa where he mocked president obama's campaign slogan. >> the president's campaign slogan is this. forward. but to 23 million americans struggling to find a good job these last four years feel a lot more like backward. >> romney said president obama's campaign quote, falls short of the magnitude of these times. if he is elected president he'll make policy changes that bring the economy, in his words, roaring back. find out how your political views align with the candidates. like ktvu channel 2 on facebook. >> friends and family of former senator george mcgovern gathered for his funeral. the 90-year-old died this past sunday. he served in the u.s. house and senate and ran as the democratic nominee against republican richard nixon in 1972. after leaving politics he devoted himself to issues of hunger and poverty. plans call for mcgovern to be buried in washington, d.c. >> a $2 million fine for sending out an e-mail about facebook. why it's not so much what he said but when he

presidentobamaandmitt romney are encouraging early voting butinstateswherehurricane sandy is expected to hit. election workers are expecting a much lower early voting turnout. >>> the daughter of marco rubio is recovering following an accident. the senator was notified about the accident yesterday while at a rally with presidential candidate company mitt romney. now family friends said she was in the passenger seat of a golf cart in a gated community. she was airlifted to the hospital with a head injury. >> she is doing bet are and the whole family is next to her. >> doctors say it appears she suffered a concussion and could be released today. the prices present and president as well as mitt romney gave a call of support. >>> they are trying to find the person who is shooting at cars and injured a fan on the way to watch the world series. latest victim was shot in the hip by driving from grand rapids to detroit to watch game three of the world series. the bullet went through the car door. four similar shootings have been reported since october 16th and this fan was the first to be inj

. house speaker john tweeted maybpresidentobamacando. both capped dates will be cam -- candidates will be campaigning today in the make or break swing state of ohio. reporting live alison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a new ktvu field poll shows a dramatic shift in how californians say they will vote on proposition 34. the proposed repeal of the state's death penalty. it shows a sudden rise in support for proposition 34. 45% of likely voters say they will vote yes. 38% say they will vote no. 17% of voters remain undecided on that proposition. now prop 34 would eliminate the death penalty in california and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. supporters of prop 34 says keeping hundreds of inmates on death row costs the state millions of dollars every year. they also point to the cases where people convicted of murder were later found to be innocent. opponents of prop 34 call ate slap in the face to the family of murder victims. >> hey. what are you doing right now? >> i just came from voting. >> coming up at 6:45 how a group of bay area students are tr

the first responders who will have to assist you in an emergency. >> reporter:presidentobamahasthis advice for those living in the storm's path. >> you need to take this very seriously and follow the instructions of your state and local officials because they are going to be providing you with the best advice in terms of how to deal with this storm over the coming days. >> reporter: all right. welcoming back out here live, you're taking a look at the atlantic right now. again, churning up there and keep in mind this is just a preview of sandy because we expect the conditions will continue to deteriorate throughout the day, but she'll really make her grand appearance later this evening. again the impact will be huge, pam, we're talking about 50 million people impacted. back to you. >> oh boy, as you keep mentioning it will be huge, thank you renee. >>> we have developing news happening right now in san jose. we'll tell you where firefighters are fighting a big warehouse fire right now. and how hurricane sandy is impacting the presidential race. >> westbound 24 looks good here, d

in an emergency. >> reporter: presidentobamahasthis advice for those live in the storm's path. >> you need to take this very seriously and fellow the instructions of your state and local officials because they are going to proud provide you with the best advice in terms of how to deal with this storm over the coming days. >> reporter: all right, and back out here live, you can see that choppy surf again and, remember this is just a preview of what is to come. we expect sandy will be making that landfall -- zeroing in on the jersey shore just about 50 miles south of where i am. back to you. >> all right, rene, stay safe out there. steve is keeping an eye on a huge storm swell and he will talk about that in a minute. we'll track the path of sandy throughout the morning. you can also get updates any time, anywhere, on our website, ktvu.com. >> all right, pam. the time is 6:40. >>> back here at home, sal will get you where you need to go this morning. >> yeah, the weather is not as severe as -- well, anywhere else in the country but it is a little foggy and will affect your drive to work. w

the first responders who will have to assist new an emergency. >> reporter:presidentobamahasthis advice for those living in the storm's path. >> you need to take this very seriously and follow the instructions of your state and local flits because they are gonna be providing -- officials because they will gonna be providing you with the best details on how to deem with the storm in the coming days. in a live look this morning at the atlantic ocean, just how choppy and how rough things have gotten. we just got word from the national hurricane center that hurricane sandy has yet intensified. it's now up to 90 miles an hour as far as the wind speeds go. folks really just -- taking caution and staying wherever it is safe indoors. back to you. >> hope you are safe out there, too. thank you, rene. >>> meanwhile, cancellations of the airlines have stranded passengers all over the world. we'll tell you how much air traffic is being affected at san francisco international airport and why san francisco could see delays even if they are not flying to the east coast. we'll continue to track the pat

. >> i know thattheobamafolkschanting four more years but our chant is this, five more days. >> reporter: the poll out this morning shows romney with a two point lead nationwide but some other state polls in swing states show the president continuing to hold onto his leads. reporting live from washington dc. >> all right. there are new report that as many as half of all california voters will vote by mail. requests for mail in ballots this year, top those in 2008. that's when 40% of voters voted by mail. that means some of the closest races may not be decided until days after the election. mail in ballots take longer to count because the signature on the envelope has to be compared the one on the voter card. >> the sister company of the pharmacy linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak has announce a voluntary recall of all it's producks. they say no problems have been reported but it's complying a fda request to improve its testing process. officials warn the recall could lead to a shortage of medication. they have the same owners as the center that sent out sterioded linke